Smashing Horn is the latest Counter Trap that can foil your opponent’s plays. It has the power to stop a monster effect or Trap Card that negates the Summon of a monster. This means that Solemn Warning and Solemn Judgment can both be pulverized by Smashing Horn while they’re trying to negate a monster’s Summon. Monsters like Thunder King Rai-Oh, that can negate the Special Summon of a monster, are also vulnerable to Smashing Horn’spower.

When a monster effect or Trap Card is activated that negates the Normal or Special Summon of a monster(s): Negate the activation and destroy it.

When an opponent negates your key Summon with Solemn Warning or Solemn Judgment, it can easily cost you the Duel. Whether that Summon was a Synchro Summon, an Xyz Summon, a Tribute Summon, or even the Normal Summon of a low-Level monster, having your monster fall to the Graveyard before it even hits the field can put you in a position that’s tough to get out of.

But now, when an opponent flips Solemn Warning or Solemn Judgment to negate your Summon, you can flip Smashing Horn to negate and destroy your opponent’s Trap Card! Since the Life Point payments for Solemn Warning and Solemn Judgment are costs of activating the card, your opponent will still lose Life Points, even though you smashed through his Trap Card with Smashing Horn.

Smashing Horn can also negate and destroy Royal Oppression, as long as Royal Oppressiontries to negate the Summon of your monster as soon as it’s activated.

If your opponent has Royal Oppression face-up on the field and you Special Summon Cyber Dragon, your opponent can use Royal Oppression’s effect and pay 800 Life Points to negate the Summon of Cyber Dragon. You won’t be able to negate Royal Oppression with Smashing Horn, since Royal Oppression wasn’t just activated. But if you Special Summon Cyber Dragonwhile your opponent still has Royal Oppression face-down, and then your opponent activatesRoyal Oppression and pays 800 Life Points to try to negate Cyber Dragon’s Summon, you can flip Smashing Horn to negate the activation of Royal Oppression and destroy it.

This may seem a little bit confusing at first, but it’s actually exactly what the text of the card says. Smashing Horn’s text says that it only works when a monster effect or Trap Card isactivated that negates the Normal or Special Summon of a monster. If your opponent flipsRoyal Oppression when you try to Special Summon Cyber Dragon, Royal Oppression fits this requirement and can be stopped by Smashing Horn. If your opponent’s Royal Oppressionwas already face-up when you tried to Special Summon Cyber Dragon, a Trap Card that negates the Summon of a monster isn’t being activated (only the effect of Royal Oppression is being activated), so Smashing Horn can’t be used.

When used against Solemn Warning and Solemn Judgment, Smashing Horn is like a Seven Tools of the Bandit that doesn’t cost 1000 Life Points. But there are other advantages to using Smashing Horn, too.

Smashing Horn can stop monster effects that negate Normal and Special Summons. This means that it can stop the effect of Thunder King Rai-Oh. A Duelist can send Rai-Oh to the Graveyard to negate the Special Summon of a monster, including a Synchro or Xyz Summon. If you try to Tune Debris Dragon with Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter to Summon Orient Dragon, or try to combine 2 copies of Mystical Shine Ball to Xyz Summon Gachi Gachi Gantetsu, Thunder King Rai-Oh can negate the Summons of those monsters. But if you have Smashing Horn Set, you can activate it to negate Rai-Oh’s effect and keep your monster.

Smashing Horn also works against Steelswarm Roach, a new Rank 4 Xyz Monster inGeneration Force. Steelswarm Roach is the product of 2 Level 4 monsters, and lets a Duelist negate the Special Summon of a Level 5 or higher monster by detaching an Xyz Material from it. When an opponent tries to negate the Summon of your high-Level monster by detaching an Xyz Material from his Roach, you can activate Smashing Horn to negate the Roach’s effect and squash it.

Smashing Horn can protect your big Summons and help you wrest control from an opponent. It could become a strong tech choice if Summon negation remains popular.